Plant fibre materials have been utilized for many years to produce textile from which a wide variety of fabrics can be manufactured, for example. Such plant fibre materials continue to grow in demand with the growing demand for natural materials and products. To keep up with this demand, various plant fibre materials from a wide range of sources have been explored for properties that are favourable for use in textile manufacturing. For example, textile properties such as uniformity, flexibility, fineness, cohesiveness, tenacity, absorbency, pliability, and amenability to various textile processing and/or treatments, must be met before a plant fibre material can be used for textile applications.
The fibres of plants, including hemp, flax, jute, nettle, ramie and the like, are known to have such properties and have been utilized for a wide variety of different textiles. For example, grass, rush, hemp, and sisal are used in making rope. Coir (coconut fibre) is used in making twine, mats, and sacking. Fibres from pulpwood trees, cotton, rice, hemp, and nettle are used in making paper. Cotton, flax, jute, hemp, ramie, bamboo, and even pineapple fibre are used in clothing.
One plant which has not heretofore been utilized for the production of textiles is the rape plant, which are plants in the genus Brassica. The most commonly recognized variety of the rape plant is the low erucic acid and low glucosinolate variety known as canola, rapeseed 00, or double zero rapeseed. There are many species of rape plants that fall within the genus Brassica, all of which are collectively referred to herein as canola plants.
As the third largest source of vegetable oil and the second leading source of protein meal, canola is one of the world's main oilseed crops. World production is growing rapidly, with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reporting 36 million tons of rapeseed produced in the 2003-2004 season, and estimating 58.4 million tons in the 2010-2011 season. In Canada alone, production of canola rose from 9 million tons in 2006 to over 10 million tons by 2008.
Despite rapidly growing world production of canola, the canola plant itself has no value as it is the oilseed alone that is the valuable harvested component of the crop. Canola is only grown as a source for the two sub-products, canola oil and canola meal. The tiny round canola seeds are crushed to produce oil, and the remainder is processed into meal, which can be used as a high-protein meal. Canola is also used for biodiesel production. As a result, approximately 40 million tons of canola stalks are available after harvesting. This by-product material is considered waste and is typically ploughed back into the soil, burned, or used as animal bedding. Commercial application of this canola by-product would, therefore, be desirable to maximizing the economy of this valuable resource.
This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.